


I'll Shine On You

by 12soul



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Cat/Human Hybrids, Hybrids, Love/Hate, M/M, Polyamory, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-14 08:39:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13586397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/12soul/pseuds/12soul
Summary: Fill for prompt by xoxopromts on tumblr:HYBRID!AU: Kyungsoo already has Jongdae, a cat hybrid. One day he brings back Baekhyun, a dog hybrid, from the shelter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When I saw this prompt I had to give it a try. My three favorite ships baeksoo, chensoo and baekchen, what better than puppy baek and kitty chen pestering human kyungsoo.

Jongdae had been taking a nap near the living room window when he heard faintly the sound of keys opening the main door. It was his every day tradition going to receive Kyungsoo when he came back from work, and today would be no different. He popped his back muscles in a really cat like manner before standing up and walking down the corridor. But before he could get closer he noticed a faint smell. There was something wrong there. He could smell Kyungsoo’s sweet cinnamon aroma, but really close to the door there was another one, a new one. It was something he hated, the muddy smell of dog hybrid. He decided to stand close to the end of the corridor, not getting nearer but still with a full view of the main door. 

 

When the keys stopped jinggling and the door started opening the smell got way stronger. Jongdae furrowed his eyebrows while his nose moved uncomfortably, trying to decipher what was going on. He saw Kyungsoo’s frame entering the apartment but what caught his attention was the light brown hair paired with droopy ears peeking from Kyungsoo’s shoulder. He kept glancing at them, not moving a single muscle until they were both inside, and when Kyungsoo finally saw him he gave a slight jump opening his already huge eyes and holding a hand over his chest.

 

“Jongdae! You scared me! Stop being a creep over there and come and say hi” Kyungsoo said while closing the door, giving both hybrids his back. In the meantime, Jongdae and the other hybrid stared at each other. He could see the pup smirking after giving him a once-over. Who did he think he is? No one dares look at Jongdae with that condescending look. The cat hissed quietly showing his teeth, and this only made the other hybrid’s smile bigger. Was he seriously making fun of him?

When Kyungsoo turned around he frowned in the direction of his owner, who just sighed knowing what the hybrid would say.

 

“What is the meaning of this?” the cat said waving his arms in the general direction of the puppy hybrid, who started snickering at the crazed look on the cat.

 

“Baekhyun stop” at this, the pup put his hands behind his back and just flashed his teeth innocently to Kyungsoo. “Jongdae, don’t be mean. Let’s go to the living room. There’s some things I need to explain to you” Jongdae let out an indignant huff and strolled to the couch. His couch. In his living room. Not the dog’s. 

 

Kyungsoo turned towards Baekhyun, frowning when he saw the puppy laughing at Jongdae’s back. He ruffled Baekhyun’s hair making him pout. “Behave. Go on to the living room at the end of the corridor. I will grab some snacks to calm him down. Take a sit and make yourself at home ok? He will maybe hiss at you but he won’t scratch or anything. He’s actually really kind” He said smiling.

 

The puppy smiled back to Kyungsoo and proceeded on to the living room. When he got there he almost laughed at the sight. The cat was sprawled all over the largest couch. He was really short, so he tried putting both his arms over his head while trying to stretch his short legs as much as he could, while his tail was draped over the small coffee table. That just looked plain uncomfortable and painful, but who was Baekhyun to judge. He knew cats were weird and did weird things all the time.

 

When Baekhyun tried taking a seat the cat hissed, just as Kyungsoo said he would, but he paid no mind ignoring the cat who looked so offended at getting ignored he decided to sit and show his elongated nails. It was just cute, nothing menacing over there.

 

Kyungsoo decided to enter the living room in that moment, almost slapping his forehead until he remembered he had his arms full of snacks. “Jongdae what did I say!” he said putting everything on the table. The cat just puffed his cheeks and turned to the other side. Kyungsoo decided to take a seat on the largest couch, getting a lap full of cat a second after. This seemed to make Jongdae happy, who looked towards Baekhyun smirking while rubbing his face all over Kyungsoo’s sweater.Baekhyun seemed to find this funny, taking a cookie from the table together with what looked like apple juice.

 

Kyungsoo took a long sip of his black coffee and decided to start talking. He just wanted to get this over with and take a long warm bath. “Baekhyun, this is Jongdae. I talked to you earlier a bit about him. He’s my cat hybrid and I have had him since we were both pretty young.” For some reason this made the cat hybrid really shy and he hid his face on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, or maybe it was the stare he was receiving from the puppy. “And Jongdae, this is Baekhyun” Kyungsoo tried shaking his arm so the cat would look at the other hybrid “He was part of the shelter Chanyeol takes care of, but he’s getting a bit old and the probabilities of getting adopted are really low now so I decided to take him home” right when he finished he was interrupted by a screech right at his eardrum.

 

“What?? Do you mean you adopted him?” He had to take both Jongdae’s hands in his so he would stop shaking him by his sweater’s neck. He could see by the corner of his eye how Baekhyun’s already droopy ears went down.

 

“Calm down, it’s not official yet. But I want you to try and get along with Baekhyun and accept him as part of our tiny family. I would never take big decisions without getting your approval and you know that, but I think this can be good for you too” the hybrid started squeezing the sweater and his sight fell down while trying to understand what Kyungsoo was saying. 

 

“Jongdae, can you do this for me?” said Kyungsoo, lifting the hybrid’s face by his chin, making eye contact. Jongdae could see in Kyungsoo’s eyes that he was willing to do whatever Jongdae wanted. If Jongdae said no it was possible that Kyungsoo would take Baekhyun back tomorrow. But he was a good kitty. He didn’t want to make his owner upset. So he had to agree and try.

 

“Ok. I will try. But I don’t make any promises!” when he saw Kyungsoo’s heart shaped smile he knew he made the right decision. He also received a big hug and a caress to his ears. After this, he stood up and went to the couch where the puppy was seating. The other’s ears perked, waiting for what Jongdae’s next move would be. He was really surprised when the cat extended an arm towards him waiting for a shake.

 

“I’m Jongdae, nice to meet you” Still shocked, the puppy returned the shake with a bright rectangular smile and replied with an excited “I’m Baekhyun! I hope we can get along!” Kyungsoo could see the puppy’s tail going crazy with movement behind him. He stood up and scratched behind Jongdae’s ears thanking him for trying.

 

“Come on Baekhyun, I will show you around. Jongdae, can you start preparing the ingredients for diner? What do you think about learning to make pasta today?” The cat hybrid had been learning how to cook as a hobby lately, and he had been pestering Kyungsoo about learning to make his special pasta since a couple of weeks ago. It was the least he could do. He saw Jongdae’s smile curl at the corners while shaking his head so fast he was afraid he would hurt his neck. Afterwards, Jongdae went running to the kitchen. When he glanced down at Baekhyun he saw how the puppy’s eyes followed Jongdae’s every movement with a weird smile. Interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

“This will be your room, originally it was going to be Jongdae’s but he shares mine. We just keep that bed for whenever we have guests” Kyungsoo said opening the window’s blinds. 

 

The room had a good size. It was definitely bigger than the one he had to share with other three dog hybrids back at the shelter and also he has his own space here. There’s a tiny bed by the window, where Kyungsoo is changing the sheets and smoothing the fabric. There’s a wardrobe on the other corner and a small table by the bed. It looks comfy, and Baekhyun is really loving it. He enters the room and slides his hand on the surface of the table which is free from dust. It looks like someone cleans the room often.

 

When he is done with the new sheets, Kyungsoo arranges the pillows and turns towards Baekhyun. “Do you like it? If there’s anything you find that bothers you or there’s anything you need you can let me know”

 

“I love it. I really don’t know how to thank you. This is way more than I had expected” said the puppy hybrid taking a seat in the newly made bed. Kyungsoo saw how shiny his eyes looked, like he was about to cry. He decided to take a seat besides Baekhyun and put an arm on his back rubbing small circles.

 

“I really think this will work out. Jongdae is a bit stubborn but it’s because he rarely has to interact with new people. He is just confused because he doesn’t know how our relationship can change with someone else in the house but I will make sure he understands nothing has to change. Just try to understand him. Can you do this for me?”

 

The puppy smiled towards Kyungsoo while nodding. A tiny teardrop escaped the corner of his eye but Kyungsoo knew it was because he was really happy. The puppy had a really cute smile. He still couldn’t understand how he had never gotten adopted, he had to ask Chanyeol a bit more about it. Also he had to call Chanyeol to tell him that Baekhyun had arrived safely. His friend had insisted on accompanying them but Kyungsoo had refused. He didn’t want to overwhelm Jongdae with more people than he needed in his territory. It was bad enough that he had brought another hybrid without telling him anything.

 

Kyungsoo stood up and went to open the wardrobe. “Here you can hang the clothes you brought. If you need more hangers just come to my room that is at the other side of the corridor. Now I will leave you so you can get comfortable, but don’t hesitate to come out to explore the rest of the house. I will call you when dinner is ready” And with that, Baekhyun was left alone in his new room. 

 

He decided to unpack his small amount of belongings right away. He decided to leave all his toys back at the shelter for the other puppy hybrids. He wanted them to have something more to play with. The only things he brought were 3 pants and 5 shirts plus his underwear. He didn’t have a lot of things, actually his clothes were mostly hand-me-downs from other hybrids that had left the shelter before him. That was some kind of rule at the shelter. Leave everything you think you won’t need so the remaining hybrids can take advantage of it. 

 

He got tired from all the emotions bubbling inside him. Excitement of having a new home, fear of getting accepted by Jongdae, happiness from having his own space, sadness from leaving behind some of his friends. So he decided to take a nap with the background noise of Jongdae and Kyungsoo clashing pots and laughing in the kitchen. He still couldn’t believe there’s a possibility he will finally have a family.

 

He had been napping for probably an hour when he started waking up because of the delicious smell coming from the door. His eyes fluttered open and he let out a high pitched scream when he was met with a pair of big eyes staring down at him. This, in turn, made the cat jump away while hissing scared. Was the cat planning on killing him on his sleep or something?

 

“You scared me!” the cat said while standing up from the floor where he had fallen on his butt.

 

“Look who's talking! I was not the one staring creepily while you slept” Baekhyun replied rearranging his new bed’s sheets. Jongdae seemed to be ashamed at the mention of his actions earlier and his face turned a really dark shade of red while he began sputtering.

 

“A-anyways! Dinner is ready so you should come and help me serve! Kyungsoo will get out of the bath soon and he likes to eat right after” the cat said walking out of the room with his tail moving behind him. Well, that was weird. And creepy. And that was the reason Baekhyun never associated with the cat hybrids in the shelter. He went to the mirror on the wardrobe to arrange his hair a bit before going to the kitchen to help serve the diner.

 

On the other hand, Jongdae who was already at the kitchen, was hitting his head against the fridge’s door.

 

“Stupid! Stupid! What were you even thinking!” he was ashamed. He didn’t know what got into him. He was supposed to go to the pup’s bedroom and just knock to call him over for diner, but when he received no answer he decided to enter and found him sleeping in his bed. Curiosity got the better of him and he got nearer to observe him. The puppy was cute, he couldn’t deny it. If he was a feline he would be cuter though, in Jongdae’s opinion of course. And when he was sleeping he was not so bad, he didn’t have that annoying smile that he hated the moment he saw him at the main door. But now, after getting caught staring he was really ashamed. There was no way he could justify himself.

 

He was so distracted wallowing in self pity he didn’t hear the puppy enter the kitchen until he cleared his throat to announce his presence. Jongdae looked at him still holding to the fridge’s door and quickly turned around to start explaining where the dishes and glasses were. 

 

Meanwhile Baekhyun was trying really hard not to laugh at the huge red mark adorning the hybrid’s forehead while trying to follow all he was saying.

 

Just in that moment, Kyungsoo decided to enter the kitchen, gaping at the sight of both hybrids talking and working together. He was afraid of following their combined voices in the kitchen and find Jongdae shouting at Baekhyun or something. “I have to say I’m surprised, I was not expecting both of you to be in the same room together without me having to force you” he said trying to grab one of the plates to help them. At this, Jongdae slapped his hand lightly with a spatula.

 

“No, no. You go and take a seat. I have this!” the hybrid shouted while pushing Kyungsoo out of the kitchen. Kyungsoo, in turn, mouthed a small ‘thankyou’ which had Jongdae blushing before exiting the kitchen and taking a seat on the dining room.

 

Baekhyun started taking the served plates to the table on the other room, while Jongdae continued serving the drinks and side dishes. When he put the plates in front of Kyungsoo he caught his smile, returning it and making a small bow with a wink. Kyungsoo laughed at this and gave him a thumbs up. He was really happy seeing Baekhyun fitting just fine in one of their daily routines. 

 

After everything was served, the two hybrids took a seat too. Jongdae taking the one next to Kyungsoo and glaring when Baekhyun made a move to seat besides him, making the puppy take a seat on the other side of Kyungsoo. Well, he didn’t really expect everything would be good since day 1. He had to start getting Jongdae’s trust little by little, and he was willing to wait for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick question, is it better to leave this pg? or does anyone want m scenes? lol I'm still debating on what the rating of this will be. Or maybe I can leave this story as pg and write some rated extras so people can just read them if they want


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note so you don't get confused later~  
> Hybrids have an official ID card kind of like the normal one humans have too. But when they get adopted they are given a tag that they have to wear in a collar, earring, necklace, whatever that is visible. So if they have only an ID it means they are not adopted. It's illegal to be outside without a tag (unadopted) so they are taken to a shelter if this is the case.  
> If the hybrid doesn't have both a tag and an ID it means they were born strays, so they never got an official document. These are taken to the shelter too.
> 
> if something is confusing after reading it just ask~

After dinner, Jongdae started picking up the plates to clean them, while Kyungsoo took Baekhyun to the bathroom. It had been a while since Baekhyun had a decent shower. Usually back at the shelter they gave him 5 minutes in the morning to wash his face and body. If he was lucky and there was shampoo, he would quickly scrub it over his short hair and hope he had enough time to get it out before his 5 minutes ended. So he was more than surprised when he entered the bathroom and the shelves were full of bottles and weird spheres literally everywhere.  There were also scented candles adorning what little space was left.

 

Kyungsoo began filling the bath when he noticed Baekhyun’s lost sight settling on the numerous colorful objects and began laughing.

 

“Those are Jongdae’s. He’s a bengal cat, and he kinda loves water so he takes baths almost daily. Most of them are water perfumes and bath bombs, but the shampoo bottles are by the shower. I think Chanyeol mentioned you love water too, so how about taking a bath so you can relax a bit?” Kyungsoo said closing the water when the tub was half filled. Baekhyun started waving his tail crazily, touching the warm water and wanting to dive in already. Kyungsoo stood up and ruffled his hair, getting a couple of towels out from the gabinet. “You can use these towels when you’re done, I will leave a change of clothes outside of the door, ok?” Baekhyun nodded, flashing his smile to Kyungsoo and getting ready to shed his clothes right there. This was the first time in all his life he was taking an actual bath so he was ecstatic. 

 

Kyungsoo decided to leave at that moment when he saw the puppy was no longer paying attention to him, his complete focus on the warm water, closing the door lightly and going towards his own room. He picked up some pants and a shirt that he never used. They were a present from Chanyeol so the color was an horrendous bright yellow. He knew that if he gave something that he wore Jongdae would get mad, so better safe than sorry. Putting the stuff by the bathroom’s door, he decided it was time to make the call.

 

“Jongdae, I’ll be out in the balcony to call Chanyeol. He wanted the complete update so it might take a while” Jongdae, who was just finishing putting the glasses back on the gabinet nodded and went to hug Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo was no fool, he knew the other one was secretly leaving his scent all over him, marking him as territory. Probably after being near Baekhyun, the puppy’s scent had stuck a bit to him. His kitty sure was a possessive one.

 

Kyungsoo wanted to ask some things to Chanyeol, so he didn’t want to risk the possibility of the puppy overhearing them. After he called the number, not even a second after, he was overwhelmed by Chanyeol’s loud voice bombarding him with questions about the well-being of the puppy.

 

“Chanyeol, calm down, I can’t understand you if you keep shouting” he said, rubbing his forehead and seating on the chair, getting comfortable. This was going to be a long talk probably.

 

_ “Sorry, sorry. So how is he? Does Jongdae like him? Did they get along? Is he comfortable? Did you feed him?” _ It was a miracle Kyungsoo could even understand the questions raining on him with the speed his friend was talking in, but they have been friends for over 10 years so by now he’s good at this. 

 

“He is good, he’s taking a bath right now. They are not the best friends yet but I have hopes that they will get there eventually, at least Jongdae accepted to try it. He seems to be comfortable, he will be staying at the guest room. We had dinner together like an hour ago. And now shut up, I need to ask some questions” His answers seemed to placate the other one. At least for now, since he received a happy hum.  

 

“Can I ask a bit about his past? I just don’t want to make him uncomfortable in case there’s something that can trigger him? And I have to say he’s quite good looking, so if the problem is his personality or something else…?” Chanyeol seemed to consider what to say, he took a couple of minutes to start talking.

 

_ “We found him maybe like 5 years ago? He was just wandering around and when we got to him he had fake papers. He had a tag and an ID, but the name and number were not the same, the tag didn’t belong to him. We tried asking about it, about whose tag was it but he never answered. He has an ID, so it means that at some point he did have a family but we are not sure what happened. It looked like he had been living in the streets for a while, so him leaving his former family was not a recent thing. He was actually the one that didn’t want to be shown on the webpage for adoptions until just last year. I have no idea why, but when he decided he wanted to give adoption a try it was too late. You know that hybrids older than 18 are rarely adopted”  _ Kyungsoo took all this information in. There were still some questions he had, actually a lot of questions, but he would have to wait for Baekhyun to open up.  _ “But you don’t have to worry personality wise. I can tell you he is one of the sweetest and most caring hybrids I have met. He used to love taking care of the younger pups” _

 

He continued chatting to Chanyeol who seemed to believe Kyungsoo needed tips about dog hybrids, totally ignoring that Kyungsoo was already a proud owner of a cat hybrid and things couldn’t be that different.

 

Inside the apartment, Jongdae was getting bored. He had been waiting for Kyungsoo’s call to end for hours! (Not even 10 minutes had passed since Kyungsoo went to the balcony) And he needed cuddles before sleeping, so going to the room now was not an option. He heard the door of the bathroom opening, and then some rustling of clothes inside. He decided to go and see what the puppy was doing. He had to make sure the other one didn’t break any house rules (Even if there were absolutely no house rules)

 

When he got nearer, he was rewarded with the really nice view of the other hybrid trying to dry his hair. He had pants on now, but the awful yellow shirt was still waiting by the sink. He was toweling his hair with both arms and this made his back muscles pop out. Jongdae had to admit he had a really nice body. His shoulders were wide and his waist narrowed down. He had his pants a bit lower on his hips so his tail could rest over them, since the pants didn’t have the hole for it. He didn’t notice he was getting nearer to the bathroom door until he heard the scream the puppy had let out on the second time that day.

 

“Jesus! You scared me! Is this going to be a regular thing?” Baekhyun said trying to climb backwards on the sink and covering his chest with the towel. Jongdae got out of his daze when his staring got interrupted by the ugly blue fluffy towel.

 

“Give that to me!” the cat said extending a hand towards the towel. Baekhyun was a bit confused but he handed it over anyways. He didn’t want to anger the other hybrid on his first day here.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was yours. Kyungsoo gave it to me so…” he didn’t finish his sentence putting on the yellow shirt. His hair was dry enough now, so it didn’t really matter.

 

“Shut up dog, and take a sit” Jongdae said while opening one of the drawers and rummaging inside. Baekhyun was still confused but decided to follow the orders, taking a seat on the bench in front of the sink. 

 

Jongdae made a small ‘aha!’ taking out a weird thing that honestly looked like a gun and Baekhyun was getting more nervous by the second. When he saw the cat connect the gun-thing by a chord he was ready to run away. Jongdae, seeing the scared expression on the pup started laughing. He turned it on and grabbed Baekhyun’s arm so he wouldn’t run away after the scary sound the gun made. 

 

“You fool, have you never seen this thing? It’s a hair dryer. If you towel your hair your ears will get hurt” Jongdae started combing the puppy’s hair when he saw his reflection on the mirror. Baekhyun had a smirk and an eyebrow raised, which made Jongdae’s skin turn red. “Kyu-Kyungsoo wouldn’t like a dog with a broken ear! I’m doing this for him, not you!” Baekhyun closed his eyes with a satisfied smile and just let the other one comb and dry his hair. This felt really nice actually! Not as nice as the bath probably, but Jongdae’s fingers gently touching his ears was more than nice. 

 

When he was done, Jongdae let out a smile at his work and started searching for something else on the drawer, when he came out with a pair of huge scissors. Baekhyun almost had a heart attack by seeing the things so close to his face. This is it. This is how he dies.

 

“Stop being a scaredy cat!” Jongdae said pushing the other one and giving him the scissors. “Don’t tell me you have never seen scissors!” 

 

“What are these for? You want to cut my hair?” Baekhyun said standing up. He was shocked to see he had the same height as Jongdae. He was sure he was taller but it was probably because Jongdae usually curled his body while sitting or walking. 

 

“It’s for um, you cut the ah…” his thoughts were interrupted by Jongdae motioning to his pants.

 

“To cut the hole for my tail?” he asked puzzled. Jongdae gave a firm nod at this, going out of the room.

 

“I’ll leave you to it then!” the cat then closed the door and Baekhyun could hear his quick steps going away. For a cat he sure was noisy sometimes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the rating will probably be changed later! But if that's the case I will mark every chapter accordingly.  
> Jongdae's motherly instincts coming out, he can't be mean even if he tries to...


	4. Chapter 4

Baekhyun had woken up really early. He was used to waking up around 6am to help the staff at the shelter prepare the breakfast. He really loved helping as much as he could. He was the oldest hybrid in the shelter, and as such, he felt some kind of responsibility on trying to diminish the work for the others. He heard some noises on the kitchen so he padded quietly over, the view of Kyungsoo cooking something on the stove quietly welcomed him.

 

“Baekhyun? I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” Kyungsoo asked serving three plates with what looked like pancakes and fruits. “I guess you’re a really light sleeper?”

 

“Don’t worry, I’m kind of used to waking up around this hour. Blame my biological clock” the puppy said taking two of the plates and putting them on the small table in the kitchen. Kyungsoo covered the remaining plate with foil and put it over the stove so Jongdae could grab it later.

 

Both of them took a seat after serving the drinks and started eating.

 

“It actually feels really nice having breakfast with someone. Jongdae wakes up so late I have to leave his breakfast prepared so he can eat it when he wakes up” Baekhyun laughed at this, because he could totally imagine Jongdae being a lazy house cat, sleeping probably 80% of the day.

 

“But you don’t have to wake up so early, I can leave breakfast for you too. I will try to be quieter tomorrow” Baekhyun perked up at the word tomorrow. Because tomorrow meant there were possibilities. And tomorrow could turn into more tomorrows.

 

He was quiet for a while, and Kyungsoo dismissed the topic trying to make small talk. “I like it. Waking up earlier and having breakfast with you, I mean. I feel refreshed if I wake up earlier so don’t worry about it. Maybe I can try cooking breakfast sometimes too” Baekhyun said picking up his dirty dishes and washing them.

 

“Oh? Do you cook? That’s good, maybe you can teach Jongdae a thing or two later. He’s been trying to learn since a couple of months ago” Kyungsoo started picking up his dishes but Baekhyun stopped him, taking them from his hands and finishing to wash them. “Actually my job is related to food, I own a restaurant chain so my schedules vary a lot. Anyways, you can find a lot of ingredients and cooking utensils. If there’s something you need just ask me or Jongdae to buy it for you” Baekhyun nodded at this. Probably everything he would need and dream of needing was already there. The shelter only had the necessities. He would definitely look around after Kyungsoo left. 

 

“At what time do you have work today?” Kyungsoo glanced at his clock before moving around and picking up some keys and his wallet from over the microwave. 

 

“I start at 9 but I will try to get there earlier and do a small checkup of the restaurant, so I’ll be leaving now” He went to the main door, putting on his shoes and picking up his briefcase and an umbrella, Baekhyun following close behind. “You can watch the TV or use my computer that is over the coffee table. Don’t hesitate to go around the house and use whatever you want, nothing is off limits” Kyungsoo scratched lightly Baekhyun’s ears and kissed his temple. “Be good, and if Jongdae is annoying just ignore him, goodbye!” and with that he was out of the door, leaving Baekhyun standing there with his waving tail.

 

Baekhyun decided to just watch TV. Watching the news was prohibited in the shelter, so he was curious of what had happened on the last weeks. Often Chanyeol, the kindest among the caretakers, brought him newspapers. But when the other staff saw them they would get mad and nag him. He also was afraid of making too much noise and waking up Jongdae, but if what Kyungsoo said was true he was probably a really heavy sleeper. 

 

He had been watching TV for almost 4 hours and dozing off when he heard the door to the bedroom open, and then heavy steps coming in his direction. The footsteps stopped just at the side of the TV, and Baekhyun didn’t know where to look at. The cat was wearing the shortest pair of shorts Baekhyun had ever seen, combined with a sleeveless shirt that was loose on the neck area. The excessive show of skin was making his cheeks burn red with embarrassment. And then Baekhyun looked at the lost expression Jongdae had while rubbing his eyes and looking in Baekhyun’s direction as if figuring out what was a strange hybrid doing in his house so early.

 

“Dog” and with that single syllable he was gone in the direction of the kitchen. No hissing, no shouting. It looks like he was soft and confused after waking up, Baekhyun mentally added it to his list of things to remember about Jongdae. 

 

He probably dozed off for a while, because the next time he woke up he was lying on his side over the tiny couch and with a cover thrown messily over his body. He was pretty sure he had been sitting on the largest couch earlier, the one which now had a smug looking Jongdae lying over it. It looks like the other had taken a bath while he was sleeping, since he was wearing thankfully normal clothes now and there was a fruity smell coming from him. 

 

Baekhyun stood up and stretched his back, his shirt rising up a little bit, and the side look Jongdae gave his abs didn’t escape him. “I will cook something for lunch, do you want anything?” he said gaining a pair of orbs looking into his own.

 

Jongdae stared without blinking for what felt like hours after replying “You know how to cook? How do I know if you won’t poison my food?”

 

“If there is any poisoning going on in this house it would probably be you poisoning me” he stated crossing his arms defensively over his chest.

 

The cat stood up with an indignant expression on his face, putting his hand on his waist. “Ok, well, you can cook my lunch but I will observe you just to make sure” he said as if he was doing Baekhyun a favor, not the other way around.

 

Baekhyun just sighed, going towards the kitchen. He was starting to get used to the cat’s behavior. He started gathering the ingredients and pots he would use to cook a simple dish. It was 2 already, so he was a bit hungry by now. Jongdae in turn sat himself on one of the tall chairs, crossing his hands over the table and lying over them. Baekhyun glanced at him, letting a small laugh out at the cute sight of the cat with his squished cheeks and pouty lips. 

 

The kitchen started smelling really nice, and Jongdae stood up to hover around Baekhyun’s shoulder trying to peek inside the pot.

 

“What is that?” Baekhyun glanced at the cat whose eyes were piercing the pot as if he would decipher every ingredient just by staring at it.

 

He hummed a little bit while stirring the pot before replying “They are just glass noodles with some vegetables and seasoning, it’s pretty simple to do” Jongdae seemed to consider his answer before going to take a seat again. When the food was done, Baekhyun served two plates and covered the remains, taking the food over to the table.

 

Jongdae immediately started eating, which made Baekhyun grin. Who was worried of food poisoning now? 

 

“This is decent, dog. You will tell me how to make this later!” Jongdae said pointing to him with his chopsticks. Baekhyun ignored the offending term, to be honest it sounded  like a pet-name coming from Jongdae, and he smiled at the rest of his sentence. The approval of his cooking and the promise of there being a next time. And now he understood Kyungsoo’s comment about Jongdae learning how to cook. That maybe Baekhyun could take advantage of it to get nearer to Jongdae.

 

The rest of the lunch went in silence. Baekhyun finished before the kitty, but he decided to wait for the other one not really sure why. It was endearing to see Jongdae trying to decipher all the ingredients while poking his food and tasting it separately. When he was finished, Jongdae took both his plate and Baekhyun’s to the sink, probably as his own version of a thank you. 

 

Baekhyun decided to laze around the TV some more. He was surfing the channels when he felt the cushion next to him sink with the added weight of Jongdae. He was about to protest that he was not on the largest couch when he saw Jongdae was carrying the laptop with him.

 

“Kyungsoo asked me to help you buy some clothes online. We can’t go outside since you don’t have a tag yet” Jongdae said while opening some pages on the computer. Baekhyun knew how to use a laptop well. Afterall back at the shelter he helped sometimes with the database for the hybrid’s webpage. But he saw Jongdae’s determined stance, this was probably because he felt indebted for the lunch or something. Baekhyun smiled and got closer to the other hybrid. Jongdae seemed to tense a little bit, but when no further movement was made he relaxed gradually.

 

“These are some brands that I like. They are hybrid friendly and have a lot of styles. I will just advise not to pick colors too bright. Kyungsoo would be ok with anything really, but whenever i wear my bright pink clothes he usually cringes and tries to convince me to change. Also don’t worry about the price, Kyungsoo can afford it”

 

Baekhyun started looking around. He still looked at the cheaper options but it looked like everything in this pages were designer clothing or something. No wonder Jongdae always looked well dressed, well, except for his night clothes. He noticed that whenever he hovered the mouse over something the cat liked he would receive an excited hum, so he decided to add things to the cart depending on Jongdae’s reactions. He didn’t know much about clothing so he followed the other hybrid’s instincts. By the end of his small shopping spree he had 2 jeans, 4 shirts and 2 hoodies. Jongdae took the laptop from him and after adding some underwear and shoes he began to fill the address and payment information. Baekhyun didn’t want to look at the grand total, he would probably regret it and try to delete everything, so he just left it to the cat hybrid. 

 

“Done! They should arrive by tomorrow evening” Jongdae said closing the laptop and standing up. Baekhyun nodded giving him a smile. Jongdae seemed to think about saying something, but just left to his room with the laptop afterwards. Baekhyun sighed and just continued watching some random movie on TV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten about chensoo/baeksoo lol I'm getting there....
> 
> I will probably be adding some extra tags on the next couple of chapters, still not sure how long this will be :) Also, there will be some time skips soon


	5. Chapter 5

When Kyungsoo arrived to the apartment that afternoon he was afraid of going upstairs and opening the door to find a disaster zone or something equally as scary. Jongdae had sent his usual string of texts earlier asking him to bring some pastries when he came home and informing him that he had ‘helped the dog’ with the clothing ordering. Kyungsoo had made sure to pick up Jongdae’s favorite strawberry shortcake and he chose a red velvet piece for Baekhyun too. He was not sure what the puppy liked yet, but he was determined to find out hopefully soon. 

 

He took the elevator, the closer he got the more nervous he started feeling. He started sweating and had to wipe his forehead a couple of times with a handkerchief. He opened the door to his apartment but waited outside for a couple of minutes. His hand was over the knob, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to enter yet. He was about to close it and go for a stroll when he heard a shout from the inside.

 

“Are you just going to stand there or are you coming inside! You look stupid, come quickly!” Right, of course Jongdae must have known he was there. The cat could smell him even when he was just getting out of the elevator. And now he just felt ashamed for being caught. He opened the door slowly, peeking around the corner and being met with Jongdae’s face staring at him.

 

“Finally! Probably you would have slept out there tonight if I didn’t say anything!” the cat said opening the door the rest of the way. Kyungsoo scratched his neck and laughed lightly. Caught!

 

When the door was finally closed, Jongdae took the bag with the cakes and deposited them safely on the floor before jumping over Kyungsoo and hugging him energetically. 

 

“Did you miss me? You missed me a lot right? How was your day?” Kyungsoo tried getting him off of him but being unable to escape his strong grip. He scratched Jongdae’s ear before giving a small peck to his forehead. “Of course I didn’t miss you. I have to see your ugly face everyday” Jongdae pouted at him, tightening his hold until Kyungsoo surrendered. “Fine! Fine! I missed you, I love you! Now let me breathe!” Jongdae smiled, giving Kyungsoo’s lips a small kiss before taking the cakes and running away. “Be careful! And wait for me before you start eating!” He sighed because he knew Jongdae was not listening to him anymore. He started taking off his shoes when he saw Baekhyun  hovering by the end of the corridor, probably came out to see what all the noise was about.

 

Kyungsoo smiled motioning for him to get close with his hand. Baekhyun obeyed, lowering his head a little bit to allow Kyungsoo to pull gently on his ears. “How was today? He didn’t give you any problems, did he?” Kyungsoo asked taking off his coat and pulling up his sleeves. 

 

“Umm he was actually really nice? I don’t know if I should be scared or something” Baekhyun said in a low voice, afraid that Jongdae could overhear them. 

 

Kyungsoo laughed at that, punching Baekhyun’s shoulder lightly. “I told you he wouldn’t attack you or anything, the worst he can do is ignore you, but it looks like that’s not the case?” Baekhyun’s cheeks tinted a little bit at this, and Kyungsoo smirked noticing the puppy’s expression. “Anyways, I brought cake. Let’s go and eat before Jongdae eats everything”

 

When they arrived to the kitchen they found that Jongdae had already started on his piece of cake. Kyungsoo filled a couple of glasses with milk and heated them while Baekhyun took a seat and started serving the other two pieces.

 

“I brought the red velvet cake for you, since I was not sure what flavors you liked. It’s the one with the blue box, but if you don’t like it you can get my lemon pie slice” Kyungsoo said taking a seat after giving one glass to each hybrid. Jongdae glanced at Baekhyun’s cake, curious on what his owner had chosen for him.

 

“I actually had never had cake, so I don’t know what is my favorite flavor either” Baekhyun said laughing a little bit, not noticing the shocked stares he was receiving from Jongdae and Kyungsoo. 

 

Turns out Baekhyun loved the red velvet cake, eating it quickly. After just one piece of it he got hooked on the icing’s sweet taste. “This is really good! It may become my new favorite!” He said joking a little bit.

 

“I will try to bring different flavors so you can start deciding which ones do you like, how about it?” offered Kyungsoo. Baekhyun just nodded, enjoying the combination of the sweetness of the cake with the warm milk. He was surprised when suddenly a spoonful of cake was put in front of his mouth. He followed the hand connecting to Jongdae, whose face was a bit red while staring at Baekhyun. Kyungsoo remained silent, trying to understand the exchange before intervening.

 

“You should try the best cake flavor! You can’t go around saying red velvet is your favorite if you have never tried the strawberry shortcake!” Jongdae said waving the spoon closer to Baekhyun. The puppy opened his mouth and Jongdae immediately fed it to him, waiting for a reaction to the flavor. “So? How is it? Better right??”

 

Baekhyun nodded excitedly. “It’s good! Better than red velvet!” Jongdae seemed to be satisfied by this answer, looking proud of making Baekhyun discover the wonderful world of strawberry shortcakes. They continued eating their pieces of cake in silence, Kyungsoo looking from Jongdae to Baekhyun with an amused smile. He didn’t want to say anything in case he would break the comfortable atmosphere.

 

Jongdae disappeared after finishing his cake, coming back some minutes later with the laptop and taking a seat over Kyungsoo’s lap to show him the screen. Baekhyun decided to pick up the containers and serve some more glasses of milk, sitting besides Kyungsoo to see what Jongdae was getting excited about.

 

“Look at the new clothes I bought! Aren’t they the cutest?” He said while scrolling down on his order’s page. So that’s what he had been doing after he left Baekhyun, he probably added a couple more items for himself before submitting the whole order. 

 

“I thought you helped Baekhyun to pick some clothes for him? And are you trying to get rid of my clothes by filling our closet with yours?” Kyungsoo said trying to gain the control of the laptop to look at the clothes better.

 

“I would be doing you a favor if you toss your boring black pants and shirts out, no one wants to see you in them!” the cat said pouting, leaving Kyungsoo to scroll over the items. “And I did buy Baekhyun’s stuff too! It’s at the bottom!” Baekhyun’s ears perked at this. It was the first time Jongdae had called his name! His tail began wagging and he unconsciously started smiling. “I added some more stuff that I liked since he picked too little” 

 

“Did you pick out a jacket? It’s going to get colder soon” Kyungsoo replied after looking at the items with a satisfied smile, at least Baekhyun’s clothes were not as...bright… as his kitten’s choices. Baekhyun didn’t know why he needed a jacket though, he was not going out of the house anytime soon without a tag. “Of course I did, dummy” Jongdae pinched Kyungsoo’s nose and picked up the laptop to take to the bedroom again. That left Kyungsoo and Baekhyun alone in the kitchen.

 

“Was the style of the clothes to your liking? If you want to try new brands later just let me know. I can ask Chanyeol to suggest some or you can surf the internet by yourself. I know Jongdae’s choices are always a bit unique” Baekhyun laughed a bit , because it was true that some of the options he saw where probably only to be used on a runway, not for streetwear. “They are ok, they had different options so I could choose things I liked. Thank you so much for buying things for me” 

 

Kyungsoo caressed Baekhyun’s cheek lightly, smiling down at the puppy “Don’t even mention it. I love to spend my money on my hybrids, and now you’re mine too. So whatever you need just ask me” he said standing up after. Kyungsoo drank the rest of the milk before going towards the entrance of the kitchen. “I’ll take a bath and answer some e-mails in my room. I will tell Jongdae to buy diner from the store downstairs so we can watch a movie together later or something”

 

Baekhyun stayed seated at the kitchen’s chair. He covered his face with his hands and giggled uncontrollably. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this one was bit shorter haha I had to write between classes, but since weekend has arrived I'll have time to get ahead on the chapters :)  
> I absolutely hate lemon pie, but idk why I picture Kyungsoo liking sour sweet stuff like that


	6. Chapter 6

Baekhyun had been living with Jongdae and Kyungsoo for almost a week now. He didn’t want to get his hopes up but he believed that he was going to be a permanent resident soon. Kyungsoo had been giving some signals, promising to take him to a certain park, asking about his favorite things and food to cook in the future, buying a couple of toys for Baekhyun (and for Jongdae too, so the cat wouldn’t get jealous). 

 

And surprisingly, he felt like his relationship with Jongdae was getting better. Really slowly but he could see a difference compared to the moment he first stepped into the house. They had developed some kind of routine. Jongdae would wake up late, grab his breakfast and then watch TV with Baekhyun, each on their own couch. During lunch time Baekhyun would offer to cook something and Jongdae would make a snarky comment before following him to the kitchen, observing intently from Baekhyun’s side. At the beginning, he almost accidentally slapped Jongdae when he got too near while he was mixing a sauce, but after the near incident he got used to the other invading his personal space and being careful to not hit the kitty. 

 

Jongdae would sometimes go outside for a couple of hours after lunch time, but always returning before Kyungsoo got back to the apartment. It was a mystery where he went to but Baekhyun was still not comfortable enough to ask him about it. The only thing he knew is that Jongdae often smelled like coffee and sweets when he came back.

 

Baekhyun had finally gathered the courage to start greeting Kyungsoo when he arrived from work too, albeit not as effusively as Jongdae. Kyungsoo seemed to be glad to see Baekhyun was slowly getting comfortable to interact with him so Baekhyun tried his best to show he was happy too.

 

By now, Baekhyun had already mapped most of the big apartment. The kitchen was more than well equipped just as he had expected, having some expensive ingredients he didn’t even know were sold in Korea. The only room that he hadn’t dared to enter yet was Jongdae and Kyungsoo’s room. He was curious, but he was afraid if he entered while the other two were outside of the apartment they would still find out he had been snooping around and get mad or something. 

 

It was Sunday today, and this meant Kyungsoo didn’t have work. Kyungsoo had also informed him yesterday night that Chanyeol would be coming today to see how the puppy had adapted to the change in atmosphere. It looks like Chanyeol had been bombarding Kyungsoo with daily updates about the hybrid, trying to make sure he was not being mistreated. Baekhyun was glad that the other one had been looking out for him and was a bit excited about seeing him today. 

 

Since Chanyeol was coming for lunch, Baekhyun offered to cook a meal for all of them. He also wanted Kyungsoo to finally try his cooking. Since the human worked during lunch time everyday and they usually ordered take out for dinner or had stuff from Kyungsoo’s restaurant, he still hadn’t been able to show off his cooking skills. He was quite confident on this, probably the only thing he felt he was good at.

 

After taking a quick shower, Baekhyun put some of his new nice clothes. A pair of black skinny jeans and a fluffy gray sweater. The sweater had been one of Jongdae’s extra choices for him and it was probably his favorite out of all of his new wardrobe. It was a bit big on his frame, so he could hide his hands inside keeping them warm. It totally had nothing to do with how Jongdae had eyed him appreciatively when he first used that sweater.

 

He went out of his room, passing besides Jongdae who was lying on the stripe of light coming from the window. It was still kind of early, so the cat was still on his lazy mode. 

 

When Jongdae felt someone pass near him he started waking up, curving his back and stretching his muscles. “Are you cooking the lunch now?” He asked following Baekhyun to the kitchen. 

 

“Yes, I think I will cook tonkatsu, how do you feel about that?” Jongdae nodded excitedly. Baekhyun had been searching for new recipes on Kyungsoo’s laptop so he could make different things everyday for lunch. He always asked for Jongdae’s opinion making sure to show him the recipes in case there was something he disliked. He decided to do it after cooking shrimps and getting surprised that Jongdae didn’t like seafood. What kind of cat doesn’t like seafood? Jongdae still ate it, because in his own words it was ‘good enough’, but Baekhyun only wanted to make things he was sure the others would enjoy.

 

Without even having to say anything, Jongdae started putting the rice on the rice cooker and helping Baekhyun with taking out some ingredients. Baekhyun was really happy he finally had a cooking partner. He liked to call the kitty his little helper. But of course he would never say it out loud, he was sure Jongdae would choke him in his sleep or something. 

 

They continued cooking in a comfortable silence. Baekhyun giving out small tips here and there and Jongdae nodding along following all of the puppy’s movements. 

 

Baekhyun glanced at the clock. In around 1 hour Chanyeol would be arriving. Probably 1 hour and a half, since in the shelter Chanyeol was known for always getting late everywhere, Baekhyun just figured out he was the same in his private life. “You should start taking a bath, I will take care of getting the rice out and cooking the rest of the pork, most of it is done by now” Jongdae nodded glancing at the clock too and leaving the tongs against the pot. Baekhyun heard the steps getting away from the kitchen and finally the bathroom’s door opening and closing. He let out a sigh, relaxing a bit more. Cooking with Jongdae always got him a bit tense, he felt as if he couldn’t make any mistake in front of the other one so he had to be very precise with everything. He still enjoyed it though, but he still had to get more used to it.

 

Kyungsoo arrived 40 minutes later, bringing with him a bag with what looked like a cake. After his week here Baekhyun had already noticed that Kyungsoo and Jongdae seemed to be addicted to pastries, always bringing bread or cakes to snack on during the evenings. 

 

“It smells really good! What are you cooking over there” Kyungsoo said dropping the bag on one of the counters. He went to hug Baekhyun’s back with one arm while peeking at the pot over his shoulder. Baekhyun brought a spoon with the sauce towards Kyungsoo’s mouth who hummed contentedly.

 

“This is seriously so good! I don’t know how you learnt to cook like this. Should I make you one of my chefs soon?” Baekhyun laughed hitting Kyungsoo lightly with his elbow. Kyungsoo took the drinks he brought and started piling them up in the refrigerator. “Chanyeol should be here anytime now. He said he was coming after picking some stuff out so he will probably arrive earlier” Baekhyun nodded absentmindedly, covering the cooked meal so it would keep the warmth. “I will go and change my clothes, can you start setting up the table?”

 

“Sure! Let me take care of it!” Baekhyun started getting out the plates from the cabinets over the sink. Kyungsoo smiled looking at the puppy moving around in the kitchen. He seemed to be really comfortable in it by now, even arranging some of the things differently to how Kyungsoo had them before. But he let him be, he was happy that Baekhyun had a place in the house where he felt comfortable and on his element.

 

Just like Kyungsoo said, Chanyeol arrived just 10 minutes later. Jongdae was already all dressed up, with a sweater that seemed to similar to Baekhyun’s own but in a wine red color. Baekhyun had raised an eyebrow at the other hybrid’s choice of outfit but Jongdae had ignored him jumping over his couch and stretching, with an adorable blush covering his cheekbones. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jongdae with red/wine red clothing is 10/10!!


	7. Chapter 7

“My dear Baekhyunnie!! How have these two idiot monsters been treating you this past week?” Jongdae decided to hide his face under one of the sofa cushions when they heard Chanyeol’s loud voice coming from the entrance. Baekhyun smirked, he really missed Chanyeol’s loud voice. Kyungsoo’s house was too quiet sometimes compared to the shelter, even if Jongdae was loud at times, it would never compare to Chanyeol’s loud deep voice. 

 

Baekhyun stood up, going towards the main corridor to greet his friend. Chanyeol was balancing his backpack while trying to get his shoes off his long legs, having difficulties because of the narrow space and his overly long limbs. Kyungsoo sighed when Chanyeol almost broke one of the lamps in a low table when he saw Baekhyun and tried to jump towards him. Baekhyun laughed, receiving Chanyeol’s warm hug.

 

“Yah, you’re going to break my house! I’m not feeding you then, you’re going out before diner” Kyungsoo chastised closing the door after Baekhyun and Chanyeol started moving towards the living room. Baekhyun laughed at Kyungsoo and Chanyeol’s antics. They seemed to be really close, so that means Jongdae must be good friends with Chanyeol too. He was glad that he could keep contacting his best friend during the shelter days. He liked to believe he didn’t miss that place at all, but to be honest he quite enjoyed Chanyeol's company and helping him tend to the younger hybrids. Baekhyun saw how the tall man pulled on Jongdae’s ears that were peeking out of the cushion, while the cat screamed and tried to scratch Chanyeol’s fingers without success. Chanyeol just laughed, patting Jongdae’s butt before sitting on the other sofa and putting the bag over the coffee table. 

 

“Come here Baekhyunnie!” Chanyeol said patting the seat besides him. Baekhyun obeyed, curiously glancing at Chanyeol’s arms that were rummaging through the backpack. Kyungsoo entered the living room taking a seat besides Jongdae, who draped himself over the human while looking curiously at Chanyeol’s backpack too. 

 

“I bought a couple of things. This is for Baekhyun” Chanyeol said taking a small blue box out of his backpack “to welcome you to the outside world!” Baekhyun laughed, taking the box from Chanyeol’s hands and shaking it to hear what was inside. “And this is for Jongdae, for giving an opportunity to Baekhyun” he said giving Jongdae an equally sized red box.

 

“Yah! Don’t even mention it!” Jongdae said grumbling, his face a deep scarlet while taking the small box and shaking it in a similar fashion to Baekhyun. 

 

“Come on! Open them up!” Chanyeol was probably more excited than the two hybrids. Baekhyun took off the crooked ribbon enveloping the box and was surprised to find a pair of gloves with a kitten face stitched on them. Baekhyun didn’t know what to say, first of all, a kitty? Seriously Chanyeol? And second he didn’t even have a need for them, after all he was not getting out any time soon. He glanced at Jongdae who was rubbing a matching pair of gloves with a corgi stitched on them against his face while showing to Kyungsoo how cute they were. Baekhyun absentmindedly touched his ears, triangular shape similar to the ones etched on the gloves. He saw Chanyeol smiling at him before going through his backpack again.

 

“Also, i finally brought this!” Chanyeol said lifting a manila envelope over his head before putting it in the table in front of Kyungsoo. Before Jongdae could even put his paw over it, Kyungsoo picked it up and began looking through the papers inside.

 

Kyungsoo nodded his head, seemingly satisfied with what he found inside. “So it’s official then? Is there anything else missing now?” Chanyeol smiled, taking the folder back and handing one of the pages to Kyungsoo. Jongdae began peeking over the content from Kyungsoo’s shoulder, widening his eyes slightly with what he saw.

 

“Completely done!” Chanyeol’s loud voice came from Baekhyun’s side. He smiled towards the puppy and ruffled his hair a bit. “Congratulations Baekhyun! You officially have a family now!”

 

Baekhyun’s breath hitched. He widened his eyes and his head moved automatically to Kyungsoo, who was smiling warmly towards the pup. “Is… is this true?” He muttered in a soft voice. Kyungsoo beckoned him over with his hand and Baekhyun almost launched himself to the other male’s legs,hugging his waist tightly. Kyungsoo tenderly petted his hair reassuring the now crying hybrid.

 

“It’s true. I had a talk with Jongdae two days ago and we decided we can’t send you back anymore. You’re a part of our tiny family now” Baekhyun glanced at Jongdae from between his bangs. The cat didn’t say anything, but he was slightly smiling towards the scene, no protests escaping his curved smile.

 

Chanyeol clapped his hands, breaking the tender atmosphere and had Kyungsoo rolling his eyes to his friend. “This is awesome and all but I’m hungry now! Let’s celebrate!” He said standing up after securing the rest of the papers inside. 

 

Jongdae escaped quickly to the kitchen, probably going to pick the plates to begin serving the food on the table. Baekhyun decided to go and help him but Kyungsoo took his hand and dragged him towards the table. “Let him do it, he can manage on his own, ok?” Baekhyun nodded, still looking toward the kitchen but obeying Kyungsoo and taking a seat at the table. 

 

Jongdae had to go back and forth a couple of times before taking a seat in between Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, right in front of Baekhyun. He put the final plate in the middle and deposited a black box right over it. 

 

Kyungsoo cleared his throat, gathering the attention of all the people seated on the table. “And now, the final surprise,” he said taking the black box from the plate. He opened it slowly and showed Baekhyun the insides. A red leather collar with a silver tag. “You can’t be officially adopted without one of theses right?” Baekhyun thought he wouldn’t cry anymore tonight but he instantly felt new warm tears going down his cheeks. He shakily took the collar, softly passing his fingers over the tag. 

 

“I hope you like it. If you don’t want a collar we can fit the tag however you want” Kyungsoo said taking the collar from him and clipping it on Baekhyun’s neck. “Jongdae chose the color and style, I think it fits you well”

 

“It’s perfect. Thank you so much. I can’t even begin to say how much this means to me” Baekhyun said touching his newly fit collar and looking directly at Jongdae’s eyes. Jongdae smiled at him, before looking down and beginning to distract himself by serving the plates. 

 

The rest of the diner was noisy. What with Chanyeol bombarding everyone with questions and almost choking on his food every 5 minutes. Baekhyun kept glancing at Jongdae, meeting their eyes a couple of times and each time Jongdae would quickly avert his eyes somewhere else. Kyungsoo kept smiling at him every once in a while, his eyes moving towards the newly red collar decorating Baekhyun’s pale neck. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking too long haha because of work sometimes I have to go out of town for special projects T.T they just inform me a short time before so I can't really make plans lol
> 
> Anyways! Finally the adoption is oficial! Now Baekhyun can freely go around


	8. Chapter 8

Next day was Monday. That meant Kyungsoo had to get up early and go to work. During their daily breakfast routine, he had promised Baekhyun to go out next Saturday to the park, since the puppy had been closed indoors for quite a while. The weather was a bit cold but thanks to Jongdae and Kyungsoo his wardrobe had been slowly growing, now full of cardigans and sweaters he could use comfortably outside. 

 

As usual, Jongdae got out of the room later. Baekhyun was dozing off watching some news on the TV when he heard the door opening and the light steps coming his way. He saw Jongdae’s dazed expression looking his way, and Baekhyun raised an eyebrow straightening his back on the couch. Finally Jongdae seemed to remember what he was doing there and cleared his throat while rubbing his eyes with his long sleeves.

 

“I’m going to have lunch with one of my friends. He’s a cat like me but he wants to meet you” Jongdae’s voice came out deeper than usual, probably because he just woke up. Baekhyun rarely talked to him earlier than lunch time. 

 

“Me?” He asked pointing at himself. Still trying to understand if the cat was inviting him out today. With his friends. To have lunch. With Jongdae. Baekhyun’s brain was going overdrive and he didn’t know if he was getting excited at the prospect of finally going out or at the fact that Jongdae was willingly inviting him to hang out together.

 

“Of course I’m talking to you, dumbass. Do you see anyone else here?” Jongdae groaned going towards the kitchen. Baekhyun stood up, following the other hybrid who was now reheating his breakfast. 

 

“I’m just surprised you’re actually asking me out” Baekhyun said resting on the doorframe with crossed arms and a smirk slowly forming on his face.

 

Jongdae’s face went red at this, looking back to Baekhyun and sputtering. “I-It’s not like that! My friend just wants to meet you that’s all! I would never invite you just like that!” He said, taking a seat at the table and filling his mouth with pancakes.

 

“Yeah, sure. Your friend. Alright I’ll go! I want to meet this friend of yours. What time should we go? I’ll take a bath first” Jongdae took a long sip of water before saying 2 hours from then, still not meeting Baekhyun’s eyes. But right before the puppy entered the bathroom he heard the other one shouting.

 

“I will leave your clothes on the bed! I can’t have you going dressed like a lazy bum” Baekhyun sighed smiling slightly. “Sure mom!” He called back, closing the door behind himself so he didn’t hear Jongdae’s retort. He actually didn’t mind the cat choosing his outfits. The cat dressed quite nicely even if he didn’t plan on going out during the day. And Baekhyun didn’t know much about style anyways, since all his clothes back at the shelter were usually mismatched and weird fitting. One part of his mind felt giddy at the hybrid choosing his clothes. ‘He’s acting like my wife or something’. Baekhyun snorted at his thoughts. Probably if the cat could read his mind he would strangle Baekhyun. He decided to just take a quick shower.

 

Baekhyun made a mental note to send Kyungsoo a message and inform him he was going to go out with Jongdae. Kyungsoo told him he could start going out now that he had a tag, but advised him to go only to places close to the apartment since he didn’t want the puppy to get lost. Baekhyun still didn’t have a phone and Kyungsoo said to wait until he could buy one to start going to farther places. 

 

He actually was really shocked that Jongdae had invited him out, friend’s orders or not. He was planning on just laying around today and maybe going later to the grocery store on the main floor for a snack or something. 

 

He got out of the shower and started drying his hair, extremely careful with his ears since a couple of days ago he had had the unpleasant feeling of hot air going inside his ear canal. Jongdae had laughed at the shriek he had let out, taking the drier from his hands and finishing the job.

 

Baekhyun secured the towel around his waist and went towards his room. He found Jongdae still going through his clothes, his back towards the door where Baekhyun was resting. After some minutes he seemed to find what he was looking for, holding a fluffy white sweater and turning around, almost dropping it when his eyes found Baekhyun. The puppy laughed when he saw Jongdae’s flinch accompanied with a small whimper.

 

“You scared me! How long have you been there?” Jongdae said in his whiny voice. He quickly looked at Baekhyun’s bare chest, immediately looking down and arranging the sweater over the bed, hiding his flushed face with his bangs. Baekhyun hummed, going closer and taking a look at the outfit. 

 

“Anyways, I’m taking a bath now. We’re leaving in an hour so be ready! I’m not waiting for you” Jongdae said going out of the room and slamming it on his way out. 

 

After changing into his clothes, he decided to give Kyungsoo a quick call since he knew it was the time the other usually had lunch and was probably free. After a couple of rings he heard Kyungsoo’s deep voice greeting him.

 

“Hi Kyungsoo! Just wanted to let you know I will be going out for a while. Jongdae invited me for lunch with a friend or something” Kyungsoo was probably eating while calling since Baekhyun heard the other one choke over the line.

 

“Jongdae invited you? Where to? When are you leaving?” Baekhyun chuckled, Kyungsoo usually got annoyed when the others asked multiple questions expecting answers and now he was doing it probably because of the shock.

 

“Weird right?” Kyungsoo hummed on the other side of the line. “He said his friend wanted to meet me, I don’t really know where but we’re leaving in an hour”

 

“His friend? Uh, alright. Have fun I guess? And make sure your tag is visible at all times!” Baekhyun chatted a bit more before hanging up. He heard the shower going off and the footsteps going from the bathroom to the bedroom. They still had one hour, but Jongdae usually took a long time choosing his clothes. They were just going to be on time. 

 

He decided to surf the Tv channels while waiting for the other to come out. Baekhyun was actually quite nervous. He kept thinking about how to behave on the outside. Also about Jongdae’s mysterious friend. What if the other hybrid disliked him? Would Jongdae care about what his friend thinks of Baekhyun? He kept fidgeting with his tag, putting his fingers in between the leather and his neck. 

 

To be honest he always thought that if he was to get a tag he would prefer it in bracelet form. He felt weird having something around his neck at all times, like it was constricting his throat or something. But now that he had it it was probably more the nervousness of actually having a tag and the heaviness of what it meant than the actual discomfort of his throat feeling too tight. He also felt special having something that Jongdae had chosen for him. The cat had specifically bought the collar thinking about how it would look like in Baekhyun, and this made the pup treasure it more. Jongdae himself had his tag clipped on one of his ears. Baekhyun sometimes felt like it may be uncomfortable to have something with a weight pulling at his ear all day, but the other didn’t seem to mind. Even adding a small bell so it would jingle everytime his ears moved. 

 

A couple of minutes later Jongdae came out all dressed up, carrying with him two pairs of long jackets and a bag in one of his arms.

 

“It’s snowing quite heavily today so you will have to take Kyungsoo’s long coat with you. He won’t mind. It will be a bit short on your sleeves since you’re a bit taller probably, but not by much” Baekhyun took the jacket putting it on. Just like Jongdae had said the sleeves where a bit shorter but nothing to worry about. “Also, here!” the cat said, handing him the paper bag. “I got this a couple of days ago, but it didn’t fit me. It’s not a gift or anything, I just couldn’t use it” he said turning around and putting on his own jacket.

 

Baekhyun opened the bag finding a soft looking scarf. It was nice to the touch and looked really warm. “Are you sure this doesn’t fit? It’s a scarf. It’s one size fits all…”

 

“Just take it idiot. It’s too big for me!” The cat said picking up his pouch and going towards the main door. Baekhyun smiled, going after him. He picked up the gloves Chanyeol had gifted him, noticing that Jongdae was also wearing the matching pair.

 

“Let’s go outside then”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me at my instagram: chensoouo :) I think I will open requests too for exo fics... since I want to practice more on writing shorter stories haha


	9. Chapter 9

The lunch was at a small restaurant three blocks away from the apartment. Jongdae had been observing Baekhyun ever since they went out the main entrance giggling quietly behind his scarf at the look the pup was giving to everything. At first, Baekhyun had dashed out the door when he saw the white powder falling from the sky, almost slipping on the pavement if not for Jongdae’s hand that shot out holding him upright. He had been fascinated by the cold drops that melted as soon as they touched his gloved hands.

 

Since he hadn’t been out for a while he also was a danger in the zebra crossings, almost getting himself rolled over when he didn’t see the walking light wasn’t on yet. Jongdae had sighed, putting his arm around Baekhyun’s and dragging the pup close to himself so he wouldn’t run off suddenly and get killed or something. Totally not because he was worried, he was making sure he was safe because Kyungsoo would be sad if something happened to Baekhyun.

 

They arrived to the tiny shop, taking off their coats and shoes at the entrance and going towards a little corner. Jongdae’s friend still hadn’t arrived so they decided to sit on opposite sides of the table while waiting. 

 

The waitress came over to leave the menus, glancing secretly to both Jongdae’s and Baekhyun’s tags. Jongdae didn’t seem to notice since he was already absorbed reading the different dishes the restaurant offered, but Baekhyun quietly touched his tag as if to make sure it was really there and he didn’t forget it anywhere. Baekhyun began to look at the menu, it was a traditional korean restaurant so he knew what most of the stuff they were selling was. He was interrupted by Jongdae’s voice.

 

“Minseok should be arriving soon now. He just sent me a message. He is my hybrid friend, older than both of us and his owner is good friends with Kyungsoo so sometimes he will be visiting the apartment” Baekhyun nodded nervously. It was one thing meeting Jongdae’s friend, but he was meeting Jongdae and Kyungsoo’s really close friend. So that meant that he had to make a really good first impression. Jongdae probably saw how he tensed after his words because he chuckled lightly patting Baekhyun’s hand “Don’t worry about it. He’s really nice. Way nicer than me at least”

 

“You’re nice too” Baekhyun said quietly. He saw Jongdae’s raised eyebrow but didn’t say anything more. They continued looking at the menu when the doorbell rang and Jongdae glanced at the entrance, a curvy smile appearing on his lips. Baekhyun turned back too, looking at the hybrid that had just gotten inside the restaurant. 

 

He was short, probably same size as him and Jongdae. He had a really cute round face and sharp eyes. On top of his head were two striped orange ears covered with snow. Minseok looked towards the table and waved when he saw his friend, his eyes drifting towards the pup and smiling brightly towards him. Baekhyun was shocked by the other’s pretty smile, frozen in place, and Jongdae elbowed him huffing under his breath. When Minseok finally got to the table he took the seat next to Jongdae, ruffling the cat’s hair and then offering his hand to Baekhyun.

 

“Hello! I’m Kim Minseok, nice to meet you!” Baekhyun took his hand, shaking it and trying to smile shyly towards the newcomer. 

 

“I’m Baekhyun, thanks for letting me get lunch with you both” Jongdae seemed to be satisfied with the exchange, picking up his menu again.

 

“Don’t even mention it. I was really curious about the cute Baekhyun Jongdae always mentioned this last week” Minseok said laughing ignoring how flushed his friend turned when he heard what Minseok said.

 

“Yah! Don’t put words in my mouth!” Jongdae said slapping Minseok’s arm repeatedly, which only made him laugh harder. Baekhyun smiled at the exchange, not taking the opportunity to make fun of the cat. He was definitely liking this Minseok guy.

 

“So, I heard from Jongdae you got adopted yesterday? I actually went with him a couple of days ago to buy the collar with him. I was surprised Jongdae chose such a flashy color but it looks really nice on you” Minseok said touching Baekhyun’s collar. Baekhyun flinched slightly, not used to strangers touching him so comfortably on the first meeting. Minseok seemed to notice it so he dropped his hand smiling silently.

 

“Yes! We had a small party yesterday night” Baekhyun said smiling. At that moment the waitress came back, taking their orders and going away again.

 

“Well congratulations! Now that you have a tag we definitely have to hang out more. Also expect me at your apartment sometimes, since my owner Joonmyun is good friends with Kyungsoo and Jongdae too”

 

“I’d be happy if you can invite me out. I don’t really have friends around so I can’t go out often” Baekhyun said scratching his neck. Jongdae perked up at that, being previously absorbed by something on his phone.

 

“Then what am I? Just a random roommate?” Jongdae said angry, slamming the phone on the table. Baekhyun flinched looking at the cat hybrid.

 

“We are f-friends?” He asked dumbfounded. He thought the cat didn’t even consider him a roommate yet. Maybe just a random stray staying at his house.

 

“You’d better be! I’m not letting random dogs stay over just because” Minseok chuckled at the exchange, punching Jongdae’s shoulder lightly who growled in exchange, and sending a weird smile to Baekhyun who just laughed in response.

 

“Ok then. I’m looking forward to going out more with you” He flashed a toothy smile. Jongdae blushed, getting lost in his phone again. Probably texting Kyungsoo.

 

The food arrived and they continued chatting while eating. Minseok talking about his and Jongdae’s childhood, while Jongdae tried closing Minseok’s mouth everytime the hybrid was about to reveal something too personal. Baekhyun was laughing all the time, almost choking on his food at some things Minseok said. It looks like both cat hybrids had been friends for a while. Kyungsoo went to high school with Joonmyun and that’s when all of them met. He was really happy, enjoying his meal and chatting with friends. Probably before the shelter the only friend he truly had was Chanyeol. And even then it was hard to get too close since the other was a human. He felt comfortable now.

 

After a couple hours Minseok said it was time to go. He needed to go and pick up some stuff for Joonmyun on his way home. They got up from the table and said their goodbyes, going in different directions.

 

On the way back Jongdae decided to pick some dessert from a nearby shop. It was the first time Baekhyun had entered a candy shop and his eyes were looking everywhere.

 

“You can pick whatever you want, just choose a bag and drop the candies there..” Even before Jongdae finished speaking Baekhyun had darted away to pick a bag and start carefully choosing his candies. Jongdae laughed lightly at the over excited puppy. Who knew he was such a fan of candies? Jongdae made a mental note to take him the again soon.

 

When they were done they went to the register to pay for it. Baekhyun’s bag overflowing with different colors of gummies and Jongdae carrying two smaller bags for Kyungsoo and himself. “You’re going to get sick with all those candies… You’d better not eat everything in one day” Jongdae said giving the card to the cashier.

 

“Whatever mom, I know how to control myself” Baekhyun said picking up all of the bags out of Jongdae’s arms.

 

“Sure looks like it” the cat grinned, glancing at the overly large candy bag. Baekhyun huffed, going out of the store first, a giggling Jongdae following from behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cat minseok makes an appearance! Also subtle xiuho, that's my friend's favorite ship lol


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